investment portfolio

The following companies have participated in our gap grant program and benefited from a $50,000-250,000 collaborative proof-of-concept project award. Many of the resulting products are on market now or are on their way there, making them ripe for investment, partnership and supplier opportunities.

They represent the best and brightest in nanoscience and microtechnology research in Oregon—entrepreneurs selected because of their companies’ high-growth potential.

Advanced materials, semiconductors, sensors, optics

Amorphyx
Amorphyx is well on its way to helping display manufacturers reduce costs and improve performance. The company’s metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diode-based devices promise a groundbreaking alternative to thin-film transistor....
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Inpria
Semiconductor companies are looking to Inpria, an ONAMI spinoff, to help them pack more transistors onto their chips. The company’s innovative metal oxide-based materials promise more function per unit area, which means higher-performing smartphones, laptops and tablets in the near future...
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Microflowflow CVO
Microflow CVO is working to commercialize high performance micromixers developed at the Microproducts Breakthrough Institute (MBI) in Corvallis, Oregon. The efficient fluidic mixing offered by Microflow CVO's micromixers finds utility in many research and industrial applications ...
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SupraSensor Technologies
Thanks to SupraSensor Technologies, growers can make sure they’re not pouring too much fertilizer, money and pollution into their fields and ground water. An ONAMI Gap grant is helping the company bring its real-time wireless soil sensors to market....
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Vadient Optics
The saying goes that seeing is believing. When you see how Vadient Optics is applying revolutionary nanocomposite materials and technologies to new lens designs, you’ll believe there’s a brighter future for eyeglasses, contact lenses, smartphone cameras, LED displays and more....
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Energy generation and storage

Applied Exergy
A remarkably simple and cost effective energy storage system can be realized by using waste (or otherwise low-grade) heat. This approach to energy storage is poised to open up new areas for waste heat utilization, energy recovery, and enhanced power plant operations....

CSD Nano
With CSD Nano’s thin-film coatings, more light can pass through glass. That means less money spent on indoor electric lighting and more electricity production from solar energy installations. ...
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Element 1
As the demand for pure hydrogen gas increases, so too does the challenge associated with delivering and storing it in a compressed form. Element 1’s scalable hydrogen generators make the gas available on-site and on-demand....
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Energy Storage Systems
With its patented All-Iron Flow Battery technology, Energy Storage Systems has found a way to minimize electricity expenditures while providing the facility-wide backup power needed to coast through power outages. ...
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NWUAV
NWUAV and the Microproducts Breakthrough Institute (MBI) of Oregon State University are working to develop a novel fuel injector capable of atomizing heavy fuels (JP-5) for use in spark ignition engines. Using microchannel structures designed and developed at the MBI, the team will work to ...
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Onboard Dynamics
Onboard Dynamics, Inc. is integrating natural gas compressor technology into automotive engines, effectively eliminating the need for an external compressor. With funding from ONAMI, the US Department of Energy (ARPA-E), Oregon BEST and other supporters, Onboard Dynamics, Inc. and Dr. Chris Hagen of Oregon State University are working to develop a novel on-vehicle, engine-compressor...
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OnTo Technology
Rechargeable lithium-cobalt oxide batteries are making the future greener, propelling electric cars and keeping laptops charged longer. OnTo Technology is making them go even further, with a process to extract material from the spent batteries and recycle them into new ones....
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Perpetua Power Source Technologies
Wireless sensors are pervasive in industry today and dependent on battery technology for continuous operation. Perpetua has developed a sustainable alternative to batteries—unique thermoelectric technology solutions that convert waste heat into electric energy....
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PLT
Pacific Light Technologies (PLT) is a materials company focused on delivering engineered nanomaterials targeting the LED lighting market in order to enable more efficient lighting. PLT is using facilities, equipment and expertise from Portland State University to develop high-performance,...
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Polaris Battery Laboratories
New battery technologies are brewing at Polaris Battery Labs, Oregon’s first and only sample making and test lab for lithium-ion batteries. By providing the equipment and expertise, Polaris is helping speed time to market for their startup customers....
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Trillium Fiberfuels
Trillium FiberFuels and Oregon State University are developing a microfiber isomerization reactor and system which enables xylose fermentation to ethanol.Trillium's unique approach to generating ethanol seeks to use agricultural residues, such as wheat or grass straw...
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Life sciences, healthcare, pharmaceuticals

Cascade Prodrug
For Cascade Prodrug, making cancer treatment safer and more effective is a priority. The company’s “pro drugs” are activated by physiological changes, specifically, when they’re inserted into the body—making them less toxic to normal cells....
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DesignMedix
With drug resistance on the rise around the world, diseases like malaria and diarrhea continue to kill millions of people every year. DesignMedix is developing novel drugs to combat resistant pathogens and reduce the incidences of infectious diseases....
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Dune Sciences
Dune Sciences, Inc. has developed a wash-on, durable, antimicrobial fabric treatment that prevents bacterial contamination of treated textiles. The product can be safely and economically applied to virtually any textile at any step in the textile manufacturing process....
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Flash Sensor
Flash Sensor Inc., a subsidiary of Virogenomics, is working with Portland State University to develop a novel device for monitoring the interaction of biological molecules based on microelectronic sensor array technology. Their "Sensor System on Panel" ...
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Floragenex
For scientists looking to answer fundamental questions in genetics, ecology, evolutionary biology and biomedical research, Floragenex is fast becoming a go-to resource. The company’s breakthrough technology lets researchers efficiently discover and genotype large amounts of genetic information, in any plant or animal system, at a competitive cost....
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Home Dialysis Plus
HD+ and Oregon State University are demonstrating fabrication and performance of a microchannel dialyzer for the multi-billion dollar market for hemodialysis. The dialyzer allows for continuous flow treatment which enables a patient to undergo treatments...
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NemaMetrix
With its novel microfluidic device, or “worm chip,” NemaMetrix is on a path to eliminate worm infections in humans and livestock. By monitoring roundworms, or C. elgans, the company’s device is aimed at accelerating the development of drugs that kill off or paralyze parasites....
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Northwest Medical Isotopes (NWMI)
A looming shortage of medical-grade isotopes in the United States could have a dramatic effect on medical diagnostics and patient health. NWMI hopes to solve this problem by providing a domestic, secure and reliable supply of molybdenum-99....
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TomegaVax
TomegaVax is a biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines for critical unmet medical needs. It was founded by a world class team of scientists with expertise in virology, immunology, and vaccine development to commercialize the Cytomegalovirus vaccine platform developed at OHSU’s Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI)....
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Valliscor
While flourine is ubiquitous in everyday applications, from Teflon® cookware to liquid crystal displays, there are few reliable, selective and cost-effective ways to introduce it into organic molecules. Valliscor is changing that....
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Water

Crystal Clear Technologies
Using proprietary nanotechnology techniques, Crystal Clear Technologies is developing materials and methods to remove toxic contaminants like mercury, arsenic and lead from industrial wastewater and drinking water....

MTEK Energy Solutions
Potable water is a global issue for agriculture, low-population density markets and developing nations without electric power infrastructure. MTEK has a solution—a system to cut the energy needed to remove salt from seawater by 50 percent....

Puralytics
Improving public health is an aggressive goal, but one that Puralytics is already achieving. Using light-activated photochemical processes, the company has pioneered products that enable pure water in places and applications where it was not possible before. ...
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ZAPS Technologies
Thanks to ZAPS, water treatment, water analysis and environmental analysis are quick, reliable and automatic. With advanced photonic technology, the company’s optical instrumentation takes discrete measurements over 50 times per second, providing real-time detection, analysis and control....
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